Dream On
by Fantaster
Summary: Have you ever dreamt of someone you don't even dare think about in reality? Who or what decides that certain people are meant for each other? Are you brave enough to admit what you feel? Pre-Traught.
1. Chapter 1

He was two years younger. He was dating Zatanna. Well, sort of. She was dating his best friend. And yet she couldn't stop dreaming of him.

Artemis produced a low groan and buried her face in her hands.

He wasn't even her type!

_Well, maybe you have a wrong type then_, a voice in her mind remarked casually, sounding suspiciously a lot like Robin.

"And maybe you should shut up," she mumbled angrily into the darkness.

The darkness huffed indignantly.

_Gosh_. She was really losing it. The archer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Get a grip on yourself! He is just…_ – she never finished the thought.

"Um, Artemis, who were you talking to?" The slightly frowning subject of her inner conflict was perched on the counter, in his civvies and those infamous dark glasses, which always made him look like some movie star trying to hide from paparazzi.

"What are you doing here?" she inquired harshly, tone almost accusing, completely ignoring his question. _Now that was real _s_mooth, Artemis, considering that the kitchen is a common area_.

Robin didn't look offended at all, though.

"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged, gracefully hopping off the counter and heading to the fridge. "You?"

"Don't want to," Artemis lied. She wanted to, because she knew exactly _who_ was waiting for her in the dreams, she just wasn't ready to admit it to herself. The archer took a mug from the cupboard and reached for the kettle. She was scared of her own feelings, so decided she'd rather deal with the non-dream version of Robin right now.

Her fingers met a hand instead of a handle.

_Or not._

Artemis jerked her hand back like she had been burnt. The motion knocked over the knife holder and a water bottle which of course just had to be open. The blonde cursed silently. Robin shot her a confused glance, and for a second it seemed that he was about to say something, but the moment passed, and he wordlessly poured some hot water into the mugs while she cleaned the mess. Artemis wasn't really surprised that a chocolate bar appeared out of thin air when they were settled on the sofa. She accepted it with gratitude and sipped her tea, unaware of the studying gaze of a certain Boy Wonder.

"It's the mission, isn't it?" he demanded all of a sudden.

Artemis almost laughed out loud. He had just given her a perfect excuse.

Oddly enough, she wasn't even slightly shaken by the event he was talking about.

"Yeah," she lied for the second time this night.

The truth was that she didn't even have the time to get scared or realize what was happening. The weird sensation of emptiness beneath her and the whistling wind in her ears had even felt exciting, and then gloved arms wrapped securely around her, and she was flying, not falling...

Technically, she managed to pass only a couple of stories before Robin caught her, and with the help of a grappling hook and a certain trembling Miss Martian they were soon back on firm ground, where the archer was almost knocked down by the said alien and a freaked out Wally, who hugged her tightly. M'gann was sobbing. Apparently, the memory of their failure of a training exercise was still fresh. Reassuring both the redheads that she was okay, she glanced around and found her bow right under her feet. A little further in the distance Kaldur was fighting the goons alongside of Superboy. Robin was nowhere in sight.

And besides, what could she say to him? _No, Robin, actually it's about the fact that you have been visiting my dreams every couple of nights for more than a month already?_

"Artemis," his voice was soft.

"Huh?" the archer snapped out of the reverie. _Oh, right, the mission_. "Can we not talk about it? I'm fine, honest. You saved me, right?"

"Sure," he didn't sound convinced, more like concerned. She could swear there was something else in his expression, although behind those dark shades, it was hard to tell. Had he also been affected by her fall tonight? Was it because of the training exercise or because of something different? Or was she just imagining things, seeing what she wanted to see instead of what was really there?

He leaned closer.

"Artemis, I…"

"Babe,what'reyoudoingup? Are you okay? Hey, Rob!"

Robin turned away. When Wally bent down to kiss Artemis, her personal dream stalker was already gone.

She sighed.

_Maybe sleep isn't such a bad idea._

They say that when someone appears in your dreams, it means this person misses you.

_Yeah, sure. The author of this quote is the champion of wishful thinking._

But what if she could pretend, for a second, that it was true?

That night Artemis dreamt of flying across Gotham in Robin's warm embrace.


	2. Chapter 2

Upon hearing the first sounds of Wally's voice, Robin winced. _Excellent timing, dude._

He sighed. What was he going to say to her anyway?

One quiet vanishing act after, in his room Dick took off the shades and collapsed onto the bed, crossing his arms under his head. 

He wasn't as surrounded by girls as Bruce was by women. Practically regardless of where his guardian went. The cashiers in the malls and some of his own employees at Wayne Enterprises flirted with him as much as all those beau-monde representatives on the parties and soirées. At least the situation with Batman was different. Dick actually snorted, having imagined **_the Batman_** flirting. _Ugh! Better not go there._

Dick wasn't that popular – didn't want to be, actually, despite the fact that some of the papers occasionally called him "Richie Rich", "Gotham Prince" and some other ridiculous names. Frankly speaking, Dick had been very embarrassed the first time he saw such headlines. Bruce, in his turn, just looked mildly amused.

Obviously, there were girls in Dick's entourage. And not just some girls.

Barbara Gordon, his oldest acquaintance. Friend and classmate. Many of his schoolmates were apparently considering them a couple. She just laughed and waved them off, though Dick didn't miss that thingy in her voice suspiciously resembling jealousy after he took a picture on Artemis' first day at Gotham Academy. _Not like Barbara would have ever admitted that, duh._

He liked Zatanna. Really liked her. She was cute, witty and elegant, had quick reflexes and charmed him from the very beginning by the wordplay she used. She was the first girl who kissed him – really kissed him, not an air kiss or a slight peck on the lips. And he was fully aware of the fact that lately it could indeed appear to onlookers that his masked self and the magician were dating.

But it was Artemis who fascinated him. He didn't care about her past, hadn't ever been **dis**-concerted by her temper and just loved her sharp tongue. Honestly, he didn't even know when his friendly affection for her turned into something much more. One could say it was just a teenage crush as Artemis was older than him, but Dick knew better.

She had saved his life several times. She was his teammate, his partner, his friend.

And his best friend's girlfriend.

_They are dating. You shouldn't feel like this when you see them kiss. The moment they chose to be together you seemed to be perfectly alright with that, so_ _why are you reacting like she doesn't belong to him?_

And then there was this mission.

Actually, it would be more appropriate to call it a disaster, heavy on the "dis-". They blew their cover, the not-so-smart goons blew up the shipment of some new chemical compound and suddenly became much smarter, the supplier escaped, the buyer remained unknown, and Batman was definitely not thrilled with the outcome.

Well, it's not really their fault that they seem to mock the meaning of "covert" missions almost each time. Things just tend to get out of control. Observe? Check. Clear up the mess that usually follows? Check. Report? Check. Covert? Sorry, Batman.

However, their real difficulties began when the team figured out this was some kind of setup. Their location had been discovered, they had been outnumbered, and as a cherry on top of the pie, Artemis was pushed over the edge of a n–storied building their stakeout was on. Without her bow and with an empty quiver – courtesy of three particularly nasty-looking thugs attacking her from behind the back.

When Artemis dropped out of his sight, he didn't hesitate, didn't even think, just dived after her. He had never been afraid of heights, even after loosing his parents, but seeing someone, seeing **_her _**fall? Dick was terrified.

Actually this was the main reason why he couldn't sleep that night.

And the secret ID thing? The final straw to his insomnia.

Being close to Artemis at school meant risking exposure. He was not stupid. He fully understood the purpose of a secret identity. _Keyword "secret" here._

Yet he couldn't help himself.

She attracted him like a magnet.

_And honestly?_ He didn't mind.

He had been wishing to reveal his real name to the team for a while already. But most of all he wanted to tell **_her_**.

Artemis was the only person besides Wally (not counting Bruce and Alfred, of course), who knew Dick Grayson, the other side of his personality. Though only Robin had to literally wear a mask, Dick had sort of grown his own mask, too, with the years. At least, in public.

Both Robin and Dick had to be careful not to slip, not to show too much, not to give oneself away. That's why he wanted to tell her so badly – he had a weird hope that knowing both his identities she would be able to see the real him, the person somewhere in between, who was sometimes showing up behind both masks.

_Please guess. Please guess and we'll laugh about this together. Someday_.

By the dawn, when Dick finally succumbed to slumber, he dreamt of flying.

And Artemis was there, holding his hand, smiling at him, her long hair windswept.

Well, Dick couldn't tell her that wasn't by far the first time he dreamt of her, could he?


End file.
